Careers: Social Networking --not just for kids anymore...

MySpace...Facebook... Orkut.. LinkedIn..Simply Hired ... Friendster.. Bebo ... Twitter...Ning...

Arrghhh... Like a hall-of-mirrors for narcissists or a gossip-fence for those with too much time on their hands, it seems like not a day goes by when a new Social Network site doesn't hit the cyberwaves. So frenetic is this trend - too many players? - that it's widely acknowledged the providers have a hard time making a buck. Simply put, they need lots of eyeballs to hit their (members') pages, or advertisers will continue balking at paying higher fees. (while advertisers are predicted to increase spending 700% by 2012, according to eMarketer, most of this is stemming from more users and providers - not increased revs per Ad...)

Still, deft career seekers would be remiss not to jump on this bandwagon - as have politicians, corporate CEO's and other mover/shakers. Why? Because Social Networking works - or can work - to enhance your image, message and connections. With 400 million members already (and 70 million blogs) in the world, it's impossible to ignore the impact of social networking - even if the industry is heading into a nasty shakeout. Consider LinkedIn's relationship with Simply Hired, a clever marriage of the world's largest business networking and biggest job search-engine. There's real synergy there, and job seekers (or networkers)can communicate effectively with their affiliated community, leveraging surveys, research, articles and all kinds of timely/relevant advice.

Don't let the kiddie-candy distract you - there's real gold in Social Networking; or shall we say, Online Business Networking.